The present invention relates to the field of excavation machinery. More specifically, the present invention relates to ripper attachments coupled to excavation machinery for breaking up material being handled thereby.
Ripper attachments that couple to excavation machinery, such as a backhoe, a front-end loader, an excavator, and the like have been used for supplementing and complementing the digging action of a bucket, coupled to the end of a tractor linkage, or boom, of the excavation machine. In particular, ripper attachments, which are typically welded or bolted to the bucket, facilitate the breaking up of materials generally resistant to removal. This is advantageous because the loosened material is more readily picked up by the bucket, thus enabling increased bucket loads and enhancing the efficiency of the excavation equipment.
Some ripper attachments are pivotally secured to the backside of a bucket in a position such that the ripper tip pivots about a horizontal axis to an operative position when the bucket is tucked or folded upwardly. A problem with the pivotal ripper attachment is that a load is transmitted through the ripper attachment to its pivotal axis on the bucket, and to a blunt end formed on the top side of the ripper attachment at a location where the top of the attachment contacts the bucket. The hard metal of the ripper attachment at this location can wear into and damage the bucket, or otherwise compromise the functionality of the bucket or other components of the excavation machine.
In order to simplify the task of connecting and disconnecting a tool, such as a bucket, on the tractor linkage, or boom, of the excavation machine, releasable quick change connectors, also known as tool couplers, have been developed. The tool couplers generally include a coupling apparatus on the tractor linkage and a complementary coupling element on each tool that is to be connected to the tractor linkage via the coupling apparatus. One such coupling apparatus includes a pair of spaced hooks, and the coupling element on the tool includes a cylindrical cross member at the front end of the tool. The spaced hooks are configured to engage the cylindrical cross member, and mechanisms at the rear end of the tool and coupling apparatus are interconnected to secure the tool to the boom.
There is a trend in the industry to utilize a tool coupler with excavation machinery due to the advantages of tool couplers. These advantages include, for example, enabling the tool to be coupled to the tractor linkage with a snug fit that is maintained throughout the operation of the tool, reducing wear on the tractor linkage and tool, and enabling a swinging capability of the tool. In addition, because a wide range of tools having the complementary coupling element may be employed with the coupling apparatus, there is greater utility realizable from an excavation machine, hence an attractive return on the investment of the equipment.
However, at present there are no systems that combine the features of a ripper attachment with the features of the tool coupler. Indeed, since the ripper attachment typically couples to a bucket, the ripper attachment is not available when using other tools that interconnect with the tool coupler. As such, should the services of a ripper be required, an operator of an excavation device having the tool coupler is obligated to decouple a tool that does not include the ripper attachment and secure a bucket with a ripper attachment or a separate ripper attachment in its place. This, of course, is inconvenient, time consuming, and detrimental to the object of optimizing the amount of work to be accomplished in a given amount of time. Moreover, the hard metal of the pivoting ripper attachment coupled to the bucket can pivot into and damage the coupling apparatus of the tool coupler resulting in downtime of the equipment in order to repair or replace damaged parts.
Accordingly, it is an advantage of the present invention that a ripper attachment is provided for an excavation device.
It is another advantage of the present invention that a ripper attachment is provided that is adapted to couple to a coupling apparatus of the excavation device.
Another advantage of the present invention is that a ripper attachment is provided that is configured for use with a wide variety of tools attachable to a coupling apparatus of the excavation device.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is that a ripper attachment is provided that does not compromise the functionality of a tool, boom, or coupling apparatus of the excavation device.
The above and other advantages of the present invention are carried out in one form by a ripper attachment for an excavating device. The ripper attachment includes support members configured for connection to the excavation device. A body of the ripper attachment has a ripper tip disposed on a distal end and has first and second mounting sections disposed on a proximal end. The first and second mounting sections of the body are removably attachable to an interface area of each of the support members. A brace element is interposed between the support members and couples the support members together.
The above and other advantages of the present invention are carried out in another form by an excavation device that includes a tool, a boom, and a coupling apparatus for securing the tool to the boom, and a ripper attachment. The ripper attachment includes support members attached along an upper edge of each of a pair of vertical plates of the coupling apparatus so that the ripper attachment is fixed relative to the coupling apparatus. A body of the ripper attachment has a ripper tip disposed on a distal end, and has first and second mounting sections disposed on a proximal end. The first and second mounting sections of the body are removably attachable to an interface area of each of the support members. A brace element is interposed between the support members and couples the support members together.